Nolan James Arenado is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Rockies on April 28, 2013. Arenado throws and bats right-handed, stands 6 feet 2 inches, and weighs 205 pounds.

A power hitter who is also an extremely skilled defender, Arenado is the only third baseman to win the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in each of his first 4 MLB seasons. He has actually also won the Fielding Bible and Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Awards for his position. In 2016, he ended up being the second player aged 25 or more youthful within the past 75 years to drive in 125 or more runs (RBI) in successive seasons and is the youngest player in Rockies franchise history to reach 100 home runs. In addition, he is a three-time MLB All-Star selection and is a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner while also two times leading the National League (NL) in both home runs and RBI. In 2017, he played for the United States national team on the planet Baseball Classic (WBC), winning that tournament’s gold medal.

From Newport Beach, California, Arenado went to high school in nearby Lake Forest prior to becoming the Rockies’ second round selection in the 2009 MLB draft. He is of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent.

The Colorado Rockies picked Arenado in the second round with the 59th overall selection of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. Rather than go to Arizona State, he signed with the Rockies, and made his professional debut with the Casper Ghosts of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where he batted .300. In 2010, Arenado played for the Asheville Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he posted a .308 batting average and 41 doubles.

Arenado and the Rockies avoided salary arbitration on January 15, 2016, agreeing to a 1 year, $5 million contract, a raise from $512,000 in 2015. He was named NL co-Player of the Week with Harper for April 18 after leading the NL with 4 home runs and 12 RBI. He carried an .852 SLG, led the NL with 23 total bases, and tied for second with 7 runs scored. Arenado made his second All-Star Game, played at Petco Park in San Diego. He hit his 100th career house on run on August 8, making him the youngest player in franchise history to do so, at simply under age 25 years and four months.

Arenado ended up being the second player aged 25 and younger within the previous 75 seasons to drive in 125 runs in succeeding seasons. Overall, in 160 games, Arenado finished the year with a .294 batting average, 182 hits, 35 doubles, six triples, tied for the NL-leading 41 home runs with Chris Carter, 116 runs scored, an MLB-leading 133 RBI, 82 additional base hits, 352 total bases, 68 walks (double the quantity from 2015), 10 intentional walks, a .362 OBP, a .570 SLG and a .932 OPS. Arenado won his fourth successive Gold Glove at the third base position, ending up being the first third baseman in MLB history to win four Gold Gloves in his first 4 seasons, along with his second Silver Slugger. He finished fifth in the MVP voting.

On June 18, 2017, Arenado hit for the cycle versus the San Francisco Giants. The home run was a walk off versus closer Mark Melancon, rounding off a 7 − 5 Rockies win. It was simply the 6th time in MLB history that a cycle featured a walk-off home run; Arenado’s teammate Carlos González was the previous to do so on July 31, 2010. The 288th cycle in MLB history, it was the 8th by a Rockies player, and the 17th overall accomplished at Coors Field.